Hakkaisan Rides the Dodgers Effect, With Exports Up About 10%

From the ballpark to the dinner table: what the Dodgers partnership involves

Hakkaisan Brewery Group is a sake brewing group based in Minamiuonuma, Niigata Prefecture, and its flagship brand, Hakkaisan, is a staple of Japanese izakaya. Niigata lies on the Sea of Japan coast, north of Tokyo, and is a rice-growing region known for crisp, dry sake. In March 2025 the group signed a two-year partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. So far it has released products that use the team’s colours on the bottle, as well as a product commemorating the Dodgers’ back-to-back World Series wins. In the same year, 2025, it also signed an official sponsorship deal with MLB (Major League Baseball) in Japan. In addition, in April 2026 it launched limited-edition cans of “Tokubetsu Honjozo Hakkaisan” bearing the logos of popular MLB clubs, for the Japanese domestic market. The brewery says it hopes people of all generations will enjoy it “while watching games and with everyday meals”.

The effect in the numbers, and a foothold in the US

According to the Niigata Nippo, domestic sales of Hakkaisan Tokubetsu Honjozo and Junmai Daiginjo from July to December 2025 rose by about 20% compared with the same period a year earlier. Exports in 2025 also grew by about 10%. Tokubetsu Honjozo is a style made light by adding a small amount of brewer’s alcohol. Junmai Daiginjo is the top grade: it is made only from rice, rice koji and water, with the rice polished away by more than half from the outside to bring out its aroma. Hakkaisan’s ties with the US go beyond sport. At the end of 2021 it announced a long-term partnership with Brooklyn Kura, a brewery that produces sake locally in Brooklyn, New York. If a popular American sport helps spread the name of sake, the effect may reach other markets too.

How to enjoy it in Europe

The MLB-logo cans are made for the Japanese domestic market, so they will be hard to find in Europe. The standard bottles are the ones to look out for. Try searching for the name “Hakkaisan” at specialist sake shops and online retailers. Tokubetsu Honjozo is best served chilled or at room temperature, alongside grilled fish or fried dishes. Junmai Daiginjo, lightly chilled and poured into a wine glass, makes the differences in aroma easy to appreciate. Whether the Major League partnership raises awareness of sake in the US is a development worth watching for what it may mean for the European sake market.